Creative Advertising MA

You'll choose to specialise in art direction or copywriting, as we strategically answer client briefs. If you focus on art direction, you'll learn vital layout and typography skills, and look into how photography, film, illustration and fine art apply to advertising. If you specialise in copywriting, you'll take on practical projects that will help you write in a clear, lively and visual style to stimulate your audience.

London Study Week will be your chance to build your knowledge and make valuable contacts as we visit major advertising agencies. We'll also visit film and production companies to learn more about how they work with agencies and fit into the creative process.

Modules

Experience and Digital Culture

What is the role of strategy and messaging in a marketing world transformed by digital technology? How do you get a message across multiple channels, in an engaging yet coherent way? As creatives, how do you generate ideas that harnass the potential of technologies and the ways in which people use them?

You will learn about and explore the impact of digital culture on brands' communication strategies and tactics, and vice versa. You will learn to develop messaging that will work across a symphony of media, assume novel forms, and those that experiment with different ways of interacting with audiences, and create new experiences.
Working collaboratively, you will use different tools and experiment with prototyping and/or testing content, objects, artefacts or products created from a range of digital tools. This will culminate into a portfolio of creative work and a written piece that demonstrates your exploration and research.

Introduction to Concept Creation

On this module you'll be introduced to the advertising industry and the agency landscape, and engage with the techniques and vocabularies used in the creation of advertising. This includes weekly discussions in which you'll learn to evaluate and critique ads.

You will begin with an introduction to the purest form of an idea in advertising – the print ad. You will also learn how to interpret a creative brief and create scamps for print advertising, working to briefs agreed with your tutors

Campaign Development

This module builds on the strategic thinking skills you have accrued to further explore creative concepts for integrated campaigns and problem-solving for different a range of communication objectives.

To help you prepare for and shape your unique portfolio and personal brand as an advertising professional, you will research and develop your own creative briefs under the guidance of your tutors. This includes training and support in industry-recognised software for multimedia content creation.

You will also apply your Master's in advertising skills to industry competitions and graduate shows such as D&AD New Blood and YCN.

Media Lab

What does the future hold for creative advertising in a communications industry dominated by metric power and digital sensibilities? How should creativity in adland evolve and what role can it play in helping to shape the future of advertising and the digital economy?

Building on what you learnt in Experiences and Digital Culture, this module takes a step back to cast a critical eye over key debates in the digital and attention economy. You will use your creative practice to speculate and envision the future of advertising

Behavioural Change for Good

Can creative advertising be a tool for making the world a better place? The module tackles this question by exploring the mind of the consumer: how are decisions made? what drives good or bad behaviours? Building on the strategic thinking skills you have accrued in Campaign Development, you will study the theories behind consumers' decision making alongside the psychological strategies that influence consumer behaviour, especially in the charity and third sector.

You will learn skills to research consumers in order to obtain insights that can be used to inform a purpose-driven campaign or any communication that will instigate behaviour change for good. Discussions will examine moral and ethical considerations relating to consumer research and the use of persuasive techniques

Working with a partner, you'll strengthen your communication and negotiation skills as you produce a portfolio of live projects from agencies and clients. You'll balance out these practical elements by researching and analysing advertising in different cultures, and learning IT skills in InDesign, Photoshop, imaging, file conversion, typography and web development.

You'll exhibit your work at the D&AD New Blood exhibition in London. This event is attended by senior advertising creatives looking to take on new recruits and so is an ideal networking opportunity.

Modules

Final Portfolio & Website

For any creative advertising graduate, the portfolio is their calling card and replaces the traditional 'CV' as the most important factor for getting their first job.

This module builds on the skills you have accumulated in all of your previous modules, to produce a distinctive portfolio that showcases your skills and creativity to prospective employers.

Your portfolio will include a mixture of self-initiated briefs and other briefs as agreed with your tutors.

This is a one-year, full-time course delivered over 45 weeks and divided into three 15-week study blocks.

Working in small groups, you’ll learn in seminars, workshops, and through individual and team tutorials. Your projects and processes will mirror life in a full-service agency as you work in copywriter/art director pairs, as well as individually. Lectures from industry professionals will provide advertising and media insights, and you’ll find helpful research and project work information in our Virtual Learning Environment.

Assessment methods

• Assessment at the end of each study block.
• Combination of visual, verbal and written assignments.
• Final, external assessment takes place in September.

We welcome applications from those with relevant equivalent Level 6 qualifications, or relevant equivalent experience, and a demonstrable interest in the subject.

We’ll also welcome your application if you have formal or 'certified' learning (such as training courses not run by universities or colleges) and learning from work experience or self-study. This is called Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL), and should have been gained within the last five years, and be equivalent to the learning outcomes of our minimum entry qualifications.

APL applicants using experience to apply should note there is a £200 application fee for entry with advanced standing or with exemption from specific modules or credit.

If English isn’t your first language, you'll need to demonstrate English language skills that are sufficiently developed for successful completion of your studies. We accept a range of recognised English language qualifications that are equivalent to the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic minimum score of 6.5 overall, with a minimum of 6.0 in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening.

International applicants who require a student visa to study in the UK must take a recognised language test that is approved and vouched for by the University. Our Applicant Services Team can help with any questions you may have about study visas or suitable language tests.